Microsoft buys Liquid Audio patents

FrankBarnako

REDMOND, Wash. (CBS.MW) -- A pioneer in developing technology to allow downloading of music files while protecting copyright owners from piracy has sold its domestic and foreign patent rights to Microsoft
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Liquid Audio
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will receive $7 million for the digital rights management tools. "Selling the rights," said Gerry Kearby, president of Redwood City, Calif.-based Liquid Audio, "is consistent with our move away from product development and toward an exclusive focus on the digital distribution of media to the retail community." The deal comes as Liquid Audio prepares to complete its merger with Alliance Entertainment, a privately held company based in Coral Springs, Fla., that specializes in business-to-business infrastructure services geared at home entertainment.

MGM Mirage online casino set to roll

MGM Mirage Inc. is expected to launch its online casino next month at http://www.mgmmirageonline.co.uk/mgmonline.htm. The operations are based in the United Kingdom, on the Isle of Man. Federal law prohibits Americans from gambling online, so MGM Mirage Online plans to use a number of technologies to prevent U.S. residents from using the service, including confirming where Internet customers physically are located. "We see billions of dollars being made out there (among the 2,000 e-casinos now operating)," said Bill Hornbuckle, president of the MGM division. He told the New York Times that MGM Mirage
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one of the leading U.S. casino operators, wants to be ready "if and when this comes" to the United States.

Iraqi Internet cafes allow limited Web access

With war clouds gathering, Baghdad is well wired with Internet cafes these days, according to a report by the Knight Ridder news service. Even smaller cities have access opportunities, approved by the government. Iraqis can surf and send e-mail freely, as long as they do so through Uruklink.net, the government-controlled service producer, the report said. It's possible to read news on Web sites other than the preferred site, but if government agents find out, there can be trouble. Uruklink.net has an English-language page that includes news headlines.

Tennessee state Web site wins kudos

The state of Tennessee's official Web site (http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/) earned the highest ranking in the country in the third annual Brown University survey of state government Internet efforts. New Jersey, California, Connecticut and Pennsylvania were also ranked among the top five.

The official Web site for Tennessee was built and is managed by a subsidiary of NIC
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a firm that develops Web sites for states, counties and towns. TennesseeAnytime.org offers a wide varierty of online services, including driver's license renewals, income-tax filings, Uniform Commercial Code searches, child-support payment summaries, and state park reservations.

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